Axel Steuer, who guided Gustavus Adolphus College through 1998 tornado, dies at 81

ST. PETER, MINN. – Axel Steuer, a multilingual academic who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950s and guided colleges in Minnesota and Illinois, died Aug. 14 at his home in Edina after a battle with cancer. He was 81.

After coming to America from war-ravaged Germany as a child, Steuer went on to learn English, become a scholar, meet his future wife while studying at Harvard University and helm Gustavus Adolphus College during one of the most critical moments in its history.

"What a success story," said Ken Westphal, who was in charge of finances at Gustavus during Steuer's tenure.

Steuer was most known for guiding Gustavus through the aftermath of an outbreak of tornadoes that ravaged southern Minnesota on March 29, 1998. The rare March storms killed two people, injured dozens and caused millions in damages.

A tornado with winds up to 175 mph devastated the campus, damaging a half-dozen buildings beyond repair. Among the losses: some 2,000 trees and the spire of the college's Christ Chapel, which was snapped in two. Students had to pick through shards of glass after the storm broke 80% of the windows at the college, according to a short history of Gustavus.

The more than $50 million in damage had some questioning whether the college could reopen the following fall — or ever again. But Steuer declared that classes would begin as soon as possible. Classes resumed three weeks later with sessions conducted in mobile homes provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

If Steuer had not pushed for Gustavus to reopen that spring, there's a chance the college wouldn't be here today, Westphal said. He recalled people wondering if incoming freshmen would be able to attend in the fall.

Westphal said other Minnesota colleges considered whether they should prepare for an influx of transfers from Gustavus.

"Why would anyone want to come back to a school that had such excessive damage?" he said.

But Steuer's decision for a swift reopening galvanized rebuilding efforts. More than 2,000 volunteers helped clean up the campus and plant trees — many still stand today. The next year's freshman class was the largest Gustavus had ever had at the time, Westphal said.

Glenn Kranking, who was finishing his senior year when the tornado hit, recalled how the college felt united under Steuer's leadership in the storm's aftermath.

"There are moments where the right person is in the right position at a critical moment," said Kranking, who now chairs the college's history department. "I truly believe Axel Steuer was that person."

A rise helped by the 'kindness of strangers'

Steuer was born March 7, 1943, in Kotzenau, a town that was part of Germany at the time but came under Poland's control after World War II.

He spent his early childhood playing hide-and-seek in bombed-out buildings, Steuer said in a 2016 interview posted by the city of St. Paul.

He and his mother, Margot, brother Peter and sister Petra came to the U.S. as refugees sponsored by the Lutheran Church in 1952. Steuer in the 2016 interview recalled arriving in New York Harbor on a U.S. troop transport ship.

His family struggled with money after moving to Pennsylvania and then California, he said. But their neighbors and community pitched in to help: Schoolteachers paid for lunches; business groups gave used clothing.

"Looking back on coming back to the United States, I've had so many experiences of generosity and the kindness of strangers who helped me realize my dream," Steuer said.

He graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1965 with degrees in philosophy and psychology. Afterward, Steuer earned a master's degree from Harvard, a divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. in religious thought from the University of Pennsylvania.

It was at Harvard that he met Loreli, his future wife of 54 years. She was struck by his handsomeness, intelligence and sense of humor.

"He had a great head of hair," Loreli Steuer said in an interview.

The Steuers moved to Minnesota in 1991 when Axel was named Gustavus' 13th president. He is credited with strengthening the college's finances and its ties with the Nobel Foundation in Sweden. In 1996, Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded Steuer the Royal Order of the Polar Star.

In 2002, Steuer left Gustavus to lead Illinois College, in a move seen as unexpected, according to a history from the school. Westphal and Loreli Steuer said the departure was prompted by a desire to do something new. Steuer retired in 2013 and moved to Edina, where he took up ballroom dancing.

To this wife, Steuer's journey from a poor immigrant to someone meeting the king of Sweden was proof of his American dream.

"He was extremely proud to be an American," Loreli Steuer said. "He loved the country so much.

A funeral service for Steuer was scheduled for Saturday at Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.